A BYU football spokesperson confirmed today that junior running back Jamaal Williams suffered a mild knee sprain during Wednesday's scrimmage at LaVell Edwards Stadium, but described the injury as "not serious."

Media members were not allowed to watch the scrimmage, which coach Bronco Mendenhall said on Tuesday was mostly held to give coaches a good look at younger players.

There is no timetable for Williams' return to practice, and he will be evaluated on a daily basis.

The Cougars begin preparations for their opener on Aug. 29 at UConn in earnest on Friday.

However, Williams is not expected to play in that game. The junior from Fontana, Calif., said three weeks ago that he will miss the opener due to suspension.

"We were caught off-guard a little bit by that," BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe said Wednesday when asked if likes to see athletes announce their own suspensions.

"This day and age, with social media and such, we don't have rules against it. It just kinda surprised us," Holmoe said. "But these are big boys and girls, and they took it upon themselves to do that, and I am OK with it. I wish they would have communicated and collaborated with our staff. We have professionals that can help it go more smoothly. But they chose to do that, and took accountability for themselves. I am OK with that."

Receiver Devon Blackmon also announced his own suspension — via Twitter.

"Yes, it is always smart communication-wise to talk about things [first]," Holmoe said. "We do it as a staff all the time, but when we don't, something goes wrong. So, we are just trying to practice [that] and help them understand and practice good judgement."

When he spoke to media members in February, Holmoe announced that BYU will no longer acknowledge or discuss honor code violations unless the athletes themselves announce them or somehow go public with them.

When coaches announce suspensions, they will generally just say the athlete violated team rules and leave it at that.

"i am [happy] with how that is working. We worked to put that in place to protect our student's privacy. I think it is ironic that we have had a couple kids come through on their own and announce their own suspensions, and now everybody wants us to say [reasons], and that is not going to happen," Holmoe said.

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